The Vauxhall XVR, first shown in
1966, was the first time Vauxhall had exhibited any form of Concept
from the Design Department at Luton which is surprising considering
their General Motors counterparts in the US regularly exhibited
Design Concepts on an annual basis – admittedly some were pretty
wacky and did not have a hope of reaching production – but they did
create interest and excitement for a particular brand. The fact
that three XVR prototypes were made, including one road going
version used by David Jones for a while, seemed to indicate
Vauxhall were seriously considering producing a 2 seat sports car.
As we now know in the end they didn’t, the XVR was far too complex
for mass production and maybe just a bit too far ahead of its
time.

However, a similar 2 seat
concept at Opel at around the same time did make it to production –
the Opel GT. The car was first shown in concept form in 1965 at
both the Paris & Frankfurt motor shows, for production it used
components from the mundane Kadett B, however Opel sub contracted
body manufacture to Brissonneau & Lotz in France. The styling
was likened to a miniature version of the Corvette, introduced in
September 1967, when the GT was eventually offered for sale in 1968
nearly three years after its initial
showing.

THE ORIGINAL OPEL GT DESIGN
CONCEPT FIRST SHOWN IN 1965 AT THE PARIS & FRANKFURT MOTOR
SHOWS, IT WAS BASED AROUND THE KADETT B
MECHANICALS

The next Styling Concept shown
by Vauxhall was not until 1970 with the SVR which was light years
ahead of its time style wise and was never envisaged as anything
more than an example of what Vauxhalls Design Department could
do.

So between 1966 and 1970 it is
assumed that Vauxhall had no 2 seat sports car plans and were
content to let Opel garner the limelight with their GT – Wrong!
Vauxhall had plans and now for the first time ever we can see what
those plans were.

DESIGN & PLANNED

ENGINEERING

Wayne Cherry, John Taylor & Leo Pruneau had all worked on the
XVR Concept, the other Judd Holcombe had returned to GM in the US,
and the remaining three began working on the Vauxhall GT Concept in
September 1966 under the guidance of David Jones. The idea was to
produce a more production friendly and far less complex concept
than the XVR that was small, fast and attractive. The plans were
for the car to use FD Victor front and rear suspension as well as
the new 2.0litre slant 4 ohc engine. The chassis would be a heavily
modified and shortened FD floor pan, in effect it would have been
altered so much that it would have qualified a new
platform.

The body design was sketched & drafted within a week and a full
size clay mock-up was completed by the end of September 1966. The
car was stunning to look at from the front & rear head on, only
the side view looked just a little awkward, rather like a Corvette
that had been involved in a front & rear accident and squashed
it but not unpleasant. The rear end featured similar strip lights
to the XVR but they were mounted further up the rear quarter and
continued down the side and so would be seen by cars approaching
side on. The very low front end was made possible because the slant
4 engine was planned to be used. Like the Opel GT it also featured
pop up front headlights. The exquisite detailing of the bumpers and
twin exhausts along with three traditional British motoring badges
on the back completed the very attractive
package.

The car was immediately packed off to the General Motors Design
Centre for evaluation prior to any further development. The car was
also photographed with an MGB GT for comparison, the MG looked
almost antique side by with the Vauxhall
Concept.

Although the car was well received in the review, GM Executives
wanted to see how the Opel GT performed in the market before
committing to another similar model. Unfortunately the Opel GT was
not a commercial success and it is rumoured Opel lost money on the
whole lifespan of the car. As a result the Vauxhall GT project
wasn’t developed further.